Nusayel accepted his guests’ plea immediately.
In truth, a part of him even welcomed the arrangement. Despite their broken state, the Salom tribe was a collection of fierce northern warriors. Once they recovered, their presence would serve as a formidable shield for the keep, significantly bolstering the territory’s defenses.
However, seeing the raw agony etched onto the faces of the mother and daughter, he pushed those strategic thoughts aside. He offered them his deepest condolences and sincere apologies for being unable to prevent such a tragedy.
He then arranged for the Chieftain and Uru’en to stay in the castle’s East Wing, while the rest of the tribe was granted the old garrison district in the town. He assigned his best healers and chefs to their care, ensuring their recovery would be swift and absolute.
But while the refugees found a new home, the more pressing issue lay within the heart of the castle itself.
The Baroness had taken the news of Lumin’s death with devastating heaviness.
It was the second crushing blow in too short a time.
First, they had lost their son, Amaniel. And then Lumin, the mysterious young man who had not only saved the Baron and the Baroness but had also protected the keep itself, was gone. To her, he was a genuinely good person, a savior whose loss shattered her remaining composure.
For days, the castle was steeped in a suffocating gloom.
It wasn’t until a sudden visit from the mysterious Lady Nisha, the baroness’s mysterious friend, that the darkness began to lift. No one knew what words were exchanged behind the closed doors of the drawing room, but after Lady Nisha’s departure, the Baroness began to recover, finding the strength to stand once more.
Furthermore, the castle’s population grew again as the summer vacation began.
The younger Luthaire children returned home from their academies. However, instead of the usual joyous reunion, their arrival was marked by somber silence. They, too, were still grieving the loss of their big brother, Amaniel. The empty seat at the dinner table served as a constant, painful reminder of the hole in their family, leaving the siblings in a state of lingering sorrow.
Through it all, Baron Nusayel stood as the lone pillar holding the roof from collapsing.
He did his best to support everyone: managing the territory, overseeing the Salom tribe’s integration, comforting his wife, and being strong for his children.
He did this even though he, too, was deeply hurt.
He, too, was in pain, his mind a mess from the relentless series of tragedies that had befallen his house.
But he was a lord, a father, a husband.
He had no choice but to stand firm.
And as the heat of summer intensified, the final act began.
The Trial of the Crown officially commenced.
The contenders, the King’s children, began their journey toward the designated testing ground. Factions solidified, and the nobility scrambled to pledge their allegiances.
Many expected Baron Nusayel to declare for Princess Aurelia. After all, she was Amaniel’s close friend, and her personal knight, Vance, was a close acquaintance of the Luthaire house.
But due to a few reasons, including the raw wound of Amaniel’s death, the Baron chose to stay resolutely neutral in this deadly game.
However, there was one other main factor behind his decision.
...An anonymous letter.
It had arrived a month prior to the Royal Banquet, sitting on his desk with no seal.
The contents were stark and terrifying.
It stated clearly that the Final Trial would take place in the Hollowlands, and it advised the Baron to stay out of it if he wanted to survive and keep his family safe.
The sender had introduced himself only as an acquaintance of their son, Amaniel. He wrote that he was sharing this information solely because he owed Amaniel a favor in the past, and with this warning, that debt would be considered repaid.
At first, Nusayel hadn’t believed it.
The Hollowlands was a cursed land of nightmare, an unlikely location for a royal trial.
But then came the Royal Banquet.
When the Prime Minister officially announced the location of the final trial, Nusayel felt a chill run down his spine.
The letter contained the truth.
Realizing the validity of the warning, Baron Nusayel made his choice.
He decided to put his trust in the words of his son’s mysterious friend.
He closed his gates, refused all banners, and chose silence.
However, his public silence did not equate to private indifference.
Nusayel could not simply abandon the girl who had been his son’s close friend, nor the young knight who had sworn to protect her.
Before Princess Aurelia’s retinue departed for the capital to join the procession, the Baron arranged a discreet transfer.
He opened the deepest chambers of the Luthaire vaults, retrieving three specific protective relics. Along with these, he provided a moderate amount of aura coins as travel funds, enough to sustain the two during the trial.
But the most valuable gift was the information.
He shared with them whatever he knew about the Hollowlands, including... The true message behind the letter.
He could not reveal the existence of the anonymous letter without raising suspicion. Instead, he encoded the warning into a parting piece of advice for Vance to deliver to the Princess.
’The Hollowlands is not a testing ground. It is a graveyard. Do not treat this as a competition for the crown. Treat it as a struggle for survival against the land itself. Trust no one, and above all, do not hesitate to flee if the darkness becomes too heavy.’
It was a cryptic warning, born from the chilling words of the "friend" who claimed to know the truth of the slaughter to come.
This was the least he could do.
It was the only way he could honor the bond his son had shared with them.
As the dust settled on the road leading away from his territory, Baron Nusayel stood on the ramparts of Eclipse Castle.
He watched the horizon, his hands gripping the cold stone.
He had done all he could.
Now, he could only wait and hope that, regardless of who won the crown or who lost it, they would simply return alive.